Vacuum cleaner configurations are known, in which a filter bag is arranged in a filter bag compartment defined in the housing of the vacuum cleaner, and a filling tube or pipe stub is provided on a movable lid that closes the filter bag compartment. When closing the lid, the filling pipe stub must accurately align with and engage into a filling hole of the filter bag. The vacuum hose is then externally plugged into the filling pipe stub to communicate the dirt-laden air into the filter bag during operation of the vacuum cleaner. Therefore, in such vacuum cleaners, it is important for the filter bag to be properly positioned and held in the filter bag compartment when the filter bag is installed and until the lid is closed so that the filling pipe stub properly engages into the filling hole.
In order to address this requirement, it is known to provide the filter bag with a stiffening element in the form of a filter mounting plate with the bag filling hole therein. The filter mounting plate is inserted in or engaged with a corresponding receiver arrangement connected to the housing of the vacuum cleaner in the filter bag compartment, to position and hold the filter bag in the bag compartment. The filling pipe stub provided on the bag compartment lid of the vacuum cleaner is inserted into the bag filling hold of the filter bag, whereby a seal is provided at the perimeter of the hole around the filling pipe stub. More particularly, it is known to provide slide channels as the receivers for the filter mounting plate, whereby the filter mounting plate slides into the slide channels to be engaged and held therein, so that the filter bag and especially the filling hole thereof is then held in the proper defined position within the bag compartment. However, such known slide channels as the receivers for the filter mounting plate require the user to carry out a relatively exact alignment and careful sliding of the filter mounting plate into the receiver channels. Any misalignment of the filter mounting plate relative to the channels, or any diagonally skewed forward sliding of the filter mounting plate results in jamming, such that the filter mounting plate is not properly positioned in the receiver channels. Also, such receiver channels are subject to accumulating dust and other debris, whereby the channels become clogged or too tight for allowing the filter mounting plate to easily slide therein. These negative aspects cause problems and difficulties for the user of the vacuum cleaner when carrying out a filter bag exchange as routine maintenance of the vacuum cleaner.